


Exposed

by Hanaasbananas



Series: Hanaa's Bollywood Playlist [5]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged Up, Angst, Bollywood inspired (again), F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Public Identity Reveal, don't know each other as civilians au (again), honestly idk what this is, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25190347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hanaasbananas/pseuds/Hanaasbananas
Summary: “This isn’t how I imagined it” she says “this isn’t how I imagined it at all.” She doesn’t have to elaborate, after all, there’s only one thing she could mean.“Me neither” Adrien sighs “I thought we’d be happier.”Ladybug lets out a dry chuckle. “Yeah. Funny how things work out.”Adrien and Marinette hide out after their identities are revealed.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Hanaa's Bollywood Playlist [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1818835
Comments: 23
Kudos: 196





	Exposed

**Author's Note:**

> wish I knew what this was tbh  
> Inspired by: [Ishaqzaade](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf1M-XJpUpQ)  
> It was only a matter of time until one of these got angsty. The fact that the song that inspired it is a love song is just...well. My only defence is that the movie the song is from is a romantic tragedy

_whatever problems this heart suffered,  
I sacrificed for you,  
whatever I won after getting burnt,  
I lost on your love _

_In a shocking turn of events, the superheroes of Paris were revealed yesterday to be none other than supermodel Adrien Agreste and Ma—”_ Adrien shuts the TV off, throwing the remote across the room in disgust. 

The press have been going insane ever since the news hit; practically foaming at the mouth to be the channel with the best exposé, prying into their private lives, being the ones to invade their privacy the most to appease an increasingly rabid public. They’ve been trending on twitter for the last twenty four hours, and sure, Adrien might be used to the attention, but not like _this._

And _she’s_ not used to it at all. 

“You don’t have to turn it off,” she says. Adrien starts, glancing over his shoulder at Ladybug. These are the first words she’s spoken since it happened and her voice is hoarse. She doesn't look at him, keeping her eyes carefully trained on the bed sheets as she pushes herself up so that she’s sitting on the bed. 

“What do you mean?” Getting up quickly, Adrien grabs a bottle of water from the mini fridge and brings it to her. She takes it gratefully, taking small sips before nodding towards the TV.

“You don’t have to turn it off every time they mention my name. It’s okay.” 

But it _isn’t._ It _isn’t_ fair at all. 

“That’s not-” he stumbles over his words, covering her hand with his own. “That’s not why I do it.” At her questioning look, he elaborates “my identity doesn’t matter—everyone knows who I am anyway but...yours-” he licks his lips “your name belongs to _you._ I won’t hear it from anyone else.”

“You don’t have to tell me!” Adrien hurries to reassure her “I just-don’t want to take that away from you.” 

She stares at him for a long moment, eyes wide. Ladybug’s eyes are just as blue without the mask, though the dark circles underneath them tells him she slept about as well as he did. The silence between them stretches on until it becomes uncomfortable, but before he can get up she grabs his wrist, stopping him. 

There are tears in her eyes, but he sees the gratitude in them and his heart constricts when she gives him a wobbly smile. 

" _Thank you”_

* * *

_Mayura comes out of nowhere._

_The battle is over, the akuma purified. Ladybug has a few minutes left on her transformation so she’s staying to talk to the press, but he has precious few seconds to get away when it happens._

_Ladybug cries out. He turns. Mayura has her pinned to the ground, reaching for Ladybugs earrings, a cruel smirk twisting at her lips. “Lets see who you_ really _are, hm?”_

_Ladybug is squirming under her grasp but her struggle is useless._

_He runs towards them, his own transformation coming undone, but he hardly cares, too focused on getting to_ her. _Adrien hears the reporters shouts, hears them yell his own name and Mayura glances back, her face an expression of shock. And then she grins._

_It happens almost in slow motion._

_Mayura_ yanks _the earrings from Ladybugs ears and in a burst of pink light her face is revealed. She tries to hide, to twist her head away from the camera’s only a few feet away from them, but Mayura grabs her by the chin, turning her head to face the news._

_He doesn’t hesitate, running straight into Mayura, tackling her and sending her sprawling, the earrings flying from her hand._

_Ladybug scrambles to her feet and Adrien sweeps the earrings up in his palm and without stopping, he grabs her hand and they_ run. 

* * *

She doesn’t speak for the rest of the day, sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs, staring blankly at the wall. Her Kwami—Tikki—is perched on Ladybugs knees, just as silent, staring mournfully up at the girl with her large eyes.

The silence is thick and oppressive, pressing down on him from all sides. It's enough to make him want to scream, to shout, to go out onto the rooftops of Paris and just _run_. But he can’t do that. Not anymore. 

Instead, Adrien pulls open the curtains, wincing as bright light fills the room, making even Ladybug murmur in protest. 

He regrets it immediately. Across the street from their window is a giant billboard with his face on it, smiling blandly back at him. Bile rises in his throat at the sight and he sits down heavily, his head in his hands.

Father…

Adrien hadn’t let himself think about what Father would say. He tells himself he doesn’t care. He _doesn’t_. Father had made his disdain for Paris’ superheroes clear and he doubts his son being revealed as one of them did anything to change his stance. 

He’s probably been disowned by now, removed from all future modelling projects at Gabriel. He should be glad. He _would_ be, under any other circumstances but…

For the first time, it hits him, the cruelty of their situation. The loss of their identities. Ladybug at least, has people who must be worrying about her. She was always telling him funny stories about her maman and papa, her friends at school. They must be absolutely beside themselves with worry. She has not lost their love. Not like he has lost fathers. If he ever had it in the first place. 

Cool fingers grasp his hands, prising them from his face and Adrien realises he’s gasping for breath, tears streaming down his cheeks. Looking up, he sees Ladybug kneeling in front of him, her brow furrowed in concern. Without saying a word, she pulls him to his feet, dragging him over to the bed. 

Sitting, she scooches over and pats the space beside her, gesturing for him to join her before lying down on her side. Hesitantly, he lies down beside her. For a while they just lay there, facing each other, hands clasped in the space between them, and then she speaks, her voice hardly above a whisper.

“Hi”

“Hi” he breathes.

“I’m scared”

Closing his eyes for a second, Adrien swallows, before admitting “me too.”

* * *

_They only get a few seconds headstart. It’ll have to be enough. He can hear the stampeding footsteps of the news crew; the reporters getting over their shock and running after them._

_Pulling Ladybug behind him Adrien ignores his heart thundering in his chest, pushing away the thought that he’s_ holding Ladybug’s bare hand! _Forcing himself to focus, he pulls them into an alleyway, looking around for somewhere to hide._

_There! A large rectangular crate that should be able to fit them. “Ladybug!” he calls her back from where she’s run ahead “here!”_

_Pushing her against the wall, he stands beside her, pulling the crate to cover them. Looking through the gaps between the wood as the reporters converge on the scene, Adrien inhales a shaky breath, trying to keep focused in the enclosed space. Ladybug is pressed against him, his arm around her shoulders and he feels her trembling, knows he has to be careful. Any other day, he’d love being in such close proximity to Ladybug, having her in his arms, but fear is coursing through his veins, a sheen of sweat coating his face._

_The reporters scout the area for a couple of minutes before giving up, heading back the way they came. Nevertheless, they stay there for a little longer in case others come looking but the street remains empty._

_Ladybug looks dazed when they stumble out of the crate, and he’s pretty sure he doesn’t look any better. She sways a little on her feet and Adrien rushes to steady her. Her skin is pale and clammy, her earlobes bleeding from where Mayura ripped the miraculous from them. Rage bubbles up inside him._

_How dare she? How_ dare _she hurt his Lady?_

_He wants to go back, to transform and find her, cataclysm her for what she has done but Ladybug is pulling him close, is burying her face in his neck and he can’t leave her—he_ won’t _leave her unprotected. Not in this state._

_There’s only one place he can think of to go._

_Chloé doesn’t look surprised to see them at all when she opens the door. She opens her mouth to say something but Adrien shoots her a warning glare and she just sighs, stepping aside to let them in._

_“You can take the room next door.”_

* * *

They go online on the third day, Ladybug retrieving her phone from underneath the mattress where he’d shoved it that first night. Her phone hadn’t stopped vibrating, buzzing across the bedside table and Ladybug hadn’t been able to bring herself to pick it up, staring at it in terror until Adrien had switched it off and put it out of sight. 

Now, she loads up the ladyblog, gripping the phone tightly in a white knuckled grip. At the top of the site is a pinned post, begging her to reach out. 

“She’s my best friend” Ladybug whispers, sounding anguished. “What do I do?” 

* * *

_Ladybug is silent as he leads her to the bathroom, sitting her down on the edge of the bathtub. Plagg flies out of his pocket and hovers in front of Ladybug, unusually solemn as Adrien rummages around in the cupboard for a first aid kit._

_He wishes Plagg would just be himself, demand Camembert or say something equally obnoxious to embarrass him._

_Because that would mean everything was going to be okay. If Plagg wasn’t bothered, then it couldn’t be that big of a deal, right? But his Kwami says nothing. Ladybug cups her hands for him to settle in, and she lets out a sob, deafening in the silence._

_The first aid kit in his hands clatters to the floor as he rushes to her, gathering her up in his arms. She clings to him, letting out great gasping sobs. Adrien can only hold her, kissing the crown of her head, feeling his own heart crack in his chest._

_There are no words for this._

* * *

Eventually, Ladybug settles on leaving a perfunctory “I’m okay” comment on the ladyblogger—Alya’s—post. She doesn’t read any other messages, shoving the phone back underneath the mattress. 

“This isn’t how I imagined it” she says “this isn’t how I imagined it at all.” She doesn’t have to elaborate, after all, there’s only one thing she could mean.

“Me neither” Adrien sighs “I thought we’d be happier.”

Ladybug lets out a dry chuckle. “Yeah. Funny how things work out.” Moving closer, she lifts his arm, settling beneath it. Her body is a warm weight against his as she rests her head on his chest. His heartbeat quickens and Adrien fights to hide his blush. 

This isn’t the time for romance. It is the time to strategize, to lay low and then come back, guns blazing. Frankly, romance should be the absolute last thing on his mind, but something about this moment feels important, like they’re on the verge of a new chapter. Ladybug grasps his hand, twining their fingers together. 

Looking up at him, she bites her lip. “I’m Marinette” she says “Marinette Dupain-Cheng”

“Adrien Agreste” he responds “but I think you already knew that.” 

She giggles, settling back against his chest and it is the best sound he has heard in days. They can’t go home. Not yet. But they have each other. 

And that’s enough. 

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I really like this story but idk where i'd take it if i continued so that probably won't happen
> 
> Follow me on:  
> [tumblr](https://hanaasbananas.tumblr.com/)  
> [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/hanaasbananaswrites/)


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